Siem Reap
June 1, 2022 in Cambodia ⋅ ☁️ 32 °C
After a smooth trip from Changi Airport, Jasper and I touched down at Siem Reap. It was a much simpler airport compared to the grand scale of Singapore's. Giving off a much provincial vibe with its wooden exterior. We quickly made our way inside, I felt the excitement in me growing by the second as this was one of my dream destinations. The security check for Covid was surprisingly rigid, the immigration process however was quite smooth. Jasper decided to exchange some money right at the airport which was a good call to save some time. I had been in touch with Daniel, from Daniel & Han Villa Boutique. We got an amazing deal here with a private room and twin beds. The place also came with a swimming pool to boot. Daniel had prepared a tuktuk transport to his place so when we got out of the airport, a tuktuk driver was holding a sign with my name on it. After making our pleasantries, we got on a pretty luxe tuktuk, reminiscent of a limo. It was honestly one of the most high-class and badass tuktuk's I've ever seen with its slick black design and an elongated body just like a horse carriage. The ride gave us a chance to see what Siem Reap was like because aside from Angkor Wat, I honestly didn't know much about this place. It was very provincial indeed, its outskirts was quite similar to Vang Vieng but the city center was much more bustling. We got to our hotel all fine and dandy, got checked in and left our things and got what we needed for the day. Now, we were ready to visit Angkor Park but not before getting our tickets and e-bikes. Our tuktuk driver took us to the ticket office which was literally empty. We went straight to the cashier to get our 3-day ticket while the tuktuk driver tried to convince us to take less days so we can go with him to other places and rent a tuktuk to ride around the park which I could understand but we were not having it. There was also another tour guide who was asking if we needed a guide but we wanted to experience it at our own pace which is why we opted to do a self-tour with e-bikes. Prior to coming, I was also in-touch with a guy that handled the Bayon E-bikes Rental shop and we had our reservations ready so we asked our tuktuk to drop us there and we would be using the bike to head to Angkor Park from there on out. After getting our e-bikes, I was surprised to see that it literally like a scooter! I was expecting it to be similar to what I rode in Hokkaido which was like a battery-assisted bike but a lot of the work still had to come from my own peddaling but this one had those pedals just for show and it pretty much ran on a small engine of some sort. Exciting! At least with this, we won't get tired and this was pretty much a life saver though I was a bit nervous at going at it straight away but hey, it's why we're here. Our guy gave us the full run-down on how to use the bikes and the recharging systems, he had a charging station inside Angkor Park as well and we could change our batteries anytime on our way home. We got on the bikes, I put on my tunes, and cranked that handlebar to the max and we were off!
The experience from riding this e-bike versus the tuktuk was not comparable at all. The exhilartion I was feeling coupled with small amounts of adrenaline as I cruised along the roads was absolutely euphoric. I felt on top of the world and I wasn't even in Angkor Park yet. The bike came with a phone holder, and since I pretty much did all the research for the routes, I navigated for us with Jasper trailing behind. The bike rides around Siem Reap was easily one of the top core memories that really made Cambodia special, without it the experience would be totally different. Time flew by as the ride was enjoyable all throughout, though it did take some getting used too especially navigating through the traffic but it wasn't that much different from riding a bike except this one was going at more than 30km/h. We stopped by at the checkpoint which finally meant we were officially in Angkor Park grounds. I stopped playing my tunes so I could be fully immersed in the ancient sacred grounds. As we approached the southern gate, Tonle Om, we were greeted by dozens of statues lined up across from each other in parallel leading up to the gate. I suppose this was the gate to enter the kingdom. There were some other dudes that Jasper took a photo of as they posed with their scooters. Just a couple of meters from Tonle Om, unbeknownst to us at that time, stood Bayon Temple. Just approaching this absolute unit of a temple already took my breath away. What was this grand fortress looking structure? The area it was covering must have been a couple of hectares wide, and even from a far we could see these grey pillars towering above us. It's magnetic pull was so strong, we immediately got side-tracked the moment we laid our eyes on this temple. I invited Jasper with a "Hey, I think we should check it out." So we parked our bikes pretty much anywhere as there was nobody else in the area and lo and behold even this temple was still empty! I couldn't believe it at all, it seemed like the rumours were true in that Angkor Park was simply devoid of tourists. We were in for a once-in-a-lifetime treat. Both of us were already saying amongst ourselves at just how epic this temple was, there were a lot of preserved statues and carvings all around us and as we got in the actual temple grounds, the whole place was just magnificent. Then, we saw the faces, they were carved on the main towers. It dawned on me that this was indeed Bayon, one of the main temples in Angkor Park and while we did try to explore and climb up some steps here and there, we saw the sign that the whole temple would be taking 2 hours so we decided to come back here on another day before our whole itinerary gets turned upside down.
We headed to the two gates near Bayon, which were the Victory and Khmoch Gates. Khmoch Gate was also known as the Gate of the Dead and it had a face on it as well. The near other gate we had to take the wild route and went full dirt-bike mode which was actually really difficult to maneuver in the grainy and rocky terrain. It was a good thing I didn't crash or hurt myself so early in the trip. From there we went to twin temples each on the opposing side of the road. Thommanon and Chao Say Tevoda, both were not on the same scale of Bayon of course but they were built different and we were able to climb on top of them like bonafide explorers. There were rooms inside the temples that were much cooler and I just found myself jumping around or sitting down wherever I pleased. I was also really excited to be able to test out a lot of the photography techniques that I have learned though not of the shots seemed to resonate with me yet. We tried to go to this other temple called Spean Thma but the roads were under construction and we were going around in circles so we decided to go to Ta Keo next which was another main temple. Seeing the temple and the amount of steps going upwards wasn't really the most exciting thing but it was still a beautiful one. It had several layers and it was of an orange hue, though most temples seem to have similar architecture, much of the temples around the park were built several hundred years from each other and under different ruling parties so in reality each one was extremely unique. Some were under Buddhism, Hinduism and some were a little bit of both mixed in. We stopped by a lone vendor's stall in Ta Keo because I had left my swimming gear in the Philippines, I opted to buy one here to use at our swimming pool. The lady offered me 4 dollars for the green shorts but seeing her having no customers made me give her a counter offer of 5 instead and she was somehow super delighted about it, she gave me and Jasper a fresh cold bottle of water which was an amazing treat. Truly, a simple act of kindness always sparks another. From there, we made a brief stop at Ta Nei which was adjacent to the main temple of the day Ta Prohm.
After Ta Prohm, we passed by Srah Srang which was a very tranquil area, the water still and unmoving. Jasper said it was man-made. We stopped by Banteay Kdei and Prasat Kravan on the way back to town. Both temples were pretty good too, smaller in scale and can't hold a candle to Ta Prohm but we managed to do our itinerary just perfectly. We stopped by to recharge our batteries and were finally able to take a dip at the pool which was pretty much paradise after a long day of temple hopping. The day wasn't over yet though, we were going to go to Phare Circus. We got on our bikes and rode a couple of meters to the circus where we were warmly welcomed and got our tickets. We had dinner here as well and were able to try a lot of Cambodian cuisine. I was so hungry I ordered both the orange-sauce chicken and noodles, and still had room to eat some of Jasper's desert. Soon, the Big Top opened and we were able to get in line just in time to have a pick at the seats. The circus was nothing short of spectacular, the acrobatics, music and tricks got the crowd going wild and even though I was already a bit sleepy, I was still really able to enjoy the vibes.Read more
Ta Prohm
June 1, 2022 in Cambodia ⋅ ☁️ 32 °C
Ta Prohm was definitely the highlight of the day, it really stood out in Angkor Park. Hidden deep in the jungle, we made our way and parked our bikes where a couple of tuktuk drivers were also parked. As we made our way deeper into the woods, we started to hear music. Just around the corner was a small band playing Cambodian traditional instruments, some of them were even handicapped, so we left a small donation for the relaxing atmosphere and continued on. The temple was still mostly empty surprisingly, what makes Ta Prohm truly unique was the vegetation growing out of everywhere. Almost like the temple and the jungle were merging into one. It had numerous humongous trees perched on top of various parts of the temple. The vibes here were so different compared to any other temple we visited that day, the energy was immense, like we were no longer in Angkor Park. There were moss covering almost every wall and these white trees and its roots that seemed to twist and turn into various shapes, swallowing the temple whole. It really made me wonder just how did things end up the way they did and how long did it take to even reach this state? I saw a person who was definitely on magic mushrooms talking or having a telepathic conversation with one of the trees, the guy was obviously tripping as he laid on one of the blocks. It made me quite jealous to be honest as it would have been an amazing experience for sure. It had started to rain for a bit too, I was afraid it would continue for the rest of the day but after a short but sudden downpour, it cleared out and we were back to smooth sailing.Read more
Roluos
June 2, 2022 in Cambodia ⋅ 🌧 27 °C
The day that went down in history as the funniest and whackiest sidetrip. We started off in the morning with a burning question: to go or not to go? The Roluos Group were basically these three temples situated in the far north east corner of Siem Reap. They were super off-the-beaten path and practically nobody ever goes there but we had the time and resources to take a gander; so after much deliberation, we went ahead with the plan. Jasper suggested to find breakfast at the markets so we got on our bikes and were off. The markets were still closed that time or maybe they were really closed for good cuz of Covid so we ended up in a nearby restaurant that was serving noodles instead. The breakfast was actually pretty good and cheap, we had some tea while the owner's kid watched some random Roblox and Minecraft videos on the restaurant's TV. When we got out, I made my first blunder of the day. I had left the key in the bike the whole time, it could have easily been stolen and it was very careless of me. The second strike was that I had left the engine running as well, I had wasted a lot of fuel and it was just the start of the day but I was optimistic and so we were off on a long road trip to the Roluos Group. I truly enjoyed the journey as it brought us new views of the provincial life, across paths laden with trees on both sides, their branches covering us from the sun, through farms and fields and mountains and hills for more than half an hour. My eyes darted between the road and my fuel bar because it was certainly going down faster than I would have liked. We were able to make it to the first set of temples though, Preah Ko, just three big temple heads similar to Prasat Kravan. Nothing to write home about after the amazing temples yesterday.
Next came the legendary Prei Monti. Finding this temple was quite difficult as even the locals didn't even know about it. We were in such a remote area, the people here couldn't understand English at all. The dirt path turned into mud and I tried to get the bike across but it was too difficult and risky so we decided to park it and head inside by foot. Right across us was a school and a lot of curious little children were looking at us, fascinated by foreigners as they were probably very rare in this part of town. We began our walk into the jungle and I tried following the GPS towards the location of the temple but the paths seemed to lead to nowhere so I decided to go full Indiana Jones and went inside the vegation with the hope of cutting across the forest and reaching the temple with Jasper reluctantly following behind. This time we were pretty deep in and the paths were getting even more similar and confusing which was starting to make Jasper anxious, meanwhile I kept on trying to push to go deeper into the jungle, going through the thick vegetation. At this point, the path was simply gone and it led to a dead-end to boot. So we decided to turn around, regroup at the bikes and use it to take it deeper into the jungle following the paths properly as we saw a kid take a short-cut avoiding the muddy path. The problem was getting back to the bikes as now we were stuck in the middle of the jungle and we had no idea which way was which. I tried following the GPS back to the main road but it just led us into more dead-ends and the paths we were taking just made us go around in circles. Now Jasper was getting panicky while I was laughing out loud at the whole situation, certainly two different sides of the coin. After a couple of minutes of backtracking and trial & error, we finally got out to the main road again and walked back to our bikes. Jasper wanted to move on but I wasn't having it, not after coming this far and wasting a lot of time getting lost in the jungle. No way, I doubled down and took off in search of this friggin' Prei Monti. I was following the map more properly this time and by some sheer luck I got to the temple. It was a dilapidated crumbling temple. Barely standing and being held alift by some recently attached steel beams. I could barely see anything but one thing I couldn't wait to see was Jasper's reaction as he was a ways behind me. His visible disappointment was so funny for me, I was laughing out loud again. With Prei Monti finally out of the way and having taken up a huge chunk of our morning, we went to Bakong Temple for the last bit but not before my neck got bit by a spider on the way out the jungle.
Bakong was definitely the most grand in the Roluos Group, it was even larger than some of the temples we visited in Angkor Park yesterday. It had several floors and had elephant statues perched on each corner. There were some students that were resting on its steps and at the top was a shrine. From the top, you could see the contrast with modern religion as right across the moat was a Buddhist temple that resembled those in Laos, definitely much newer than Bakong. We had briefly passed by Bakong's moat on the way and I made a mental note to take a photo so on the way back, so we stopped by and I got my photo while Jasper took pictures of the monkeys hanging around. My bike also ended up falling down on the ground and Jasper had to help me prop it back up again. I was pretty sure that was when I broke one of its lights and I had once again left the engines on, this was definitely strike three for me.
With the Roluos Group and a bunch of mishaps out of the way, it was now time to say good bye and head on back to Angkor Park. On the way, I realized that we were only saying good bye to the Roluos temples as the problems seemed to be following us around today. Our batteries were running dry and mine doubly so as I had been leaving the engine on a lot. I was still very much optimistic and somehow thought we would make it but as my battery slowly depleted, my speed also dwindled. Jasper slowly caught up and ended up being in front while the distance between our bike became larger. There was still 20km left of straight road and we weren't even half-way. I found the whole worsening situation absolutely hilarious! I was laughing all throughout the way while Jasper was getting worried and suggesting that we knock on some random resident's home to ask to charge our batteries. I wasn't having it though and still pushed through ahead, telling myself I would pedal all the way back, after all what was 20kms? I soon realized my folly when my bike's battery really died and I was left pedaling this huge chunk of metal. It was extremely heavy and the gear setting was so low I had to do a lot of cadence for my bike to move a couple of centimeters. There was no way I was even making 1km without completely tiring myself at this rate out so my hopes of reaching Angkor Park were dashed. So much setbacks today but it is what it is, I was sure we could do everything without problems still. We were very lucky because there was a random cafe in the middle of the road and we were able to stop by and charge our batteries. We bought some water as thanks and waited for an hour or so. The battery was around half full which made things a bit more promising but there was no way we were reaching the charging station before running out again so we decided to stop at a restaurant half way through to eat lunch and charge our batteries again.
Surely enough, our batteries started to run out and my speed was slowing down again but we were close and decided between two restaurants. Jasper mentioned we passed by a better looking restaurant behind us so we backtracked and decided to eat and charge our batteries there. We were showed to a pretty nice table raised above the ground with some hammocks at the side and cushions on the floor. The food was amazing but a bit spicy, I was so hungry, I ordered a double meal again. The bathroom's sink also had a giant cricket. I tried to eat as much as I can even though I was already full as I didn't want to waste food and the waitress found it so funny she was laughing out loud. We finally got on our bikes and this time it seemed like we were going to make it to the charging station at Srah Srang but on the way we passed by Pre Rup, one of the major temples of the day. Since we were already here and so close to the charging station, I convinced Jasper to stop by so we could finally see an actual temple after such a long journey.Read more
Pre Rup
June 2, 2022 in Cambodia ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C
Even from afar, Pre Rup was stood overbearing. One of the most prominent temples to watch the sunset and with good reason. It was probably the tallest temple we have seen. Having multiple floors with giant steps that extended towards the sky. It had numerous towers and pillars with a distinguished arrow-like roof. It also had elephant statues on some corners. I have seen pictures of Pre Rup online and the crowds were insane as most of the tours end up here towards the end of the day for sunset. Thankfully, it was absolutely empty while we were here, I can't even begin to be grateful for such a rare experience. We climbed to the very top part and were able to take awesome photos. We went down after awhile and stopped by the vendor's where Jasper bought some souvenirs and exchanged some pleasant conversation until it was time for us to finally find the charging station at Srah Srang.Read more
Siem Reap II
June 2, 2022 in Cambodia ⋅ ☁️ 31 °C
After getting convinced by the vendors from Pre Rup, we set off to backtrack our way back to Banteay Samre. We passed by very remote areas where people lived very simple lives. They sold fruit and drinks on the streets to passing cars, time moved a bit slowly here while our bikes were going at full speed. The roads were of a rusty orange hue and so was the soil around this part of town. We somehow got side tracked again by some random sign on the road that I had thought was pointing to Banteay Samre but it just led us to the wrong direction according to the map so we got back to the main street and asked a vendor for directions. Thankfully, we managed to get there without too much of a hassle like the morning's Prei Monti fiasco. Banteay Samre had the orange tones around its walls and the deeper portion was of a mahogany brown. It was quite unfortunate that we missed the monkey statues here. It was probably my fault for being lazy to explore and just calling it to go to the next one. I was able to take one of my favorite photos though so it wasn't all that bad. We freshened up in the bathroom and got ready for the next one. Along the way, we also visited the Eastern Mebon which was the sister temple to Pre Rup. Both similar in size and structure except Pre Rup was definitely much larger.
Preah Khan was the definition of infinity. The temple's main hall extended so far it was impossible to see where it ended. It was a super trippy temple with it's rectangular framed doors that seemed to lead into more doors just like two mirrors facing each other. Each room had these doors that extended in all four directions and exploring this temple was akin to going around a labyrinth. We tried to go from one end to the other, using the central stupa as a landmark because it would have been very easy to get lost around here. Crossing through a dozen doors, we got to the very end which led to another path going deeper into the jungle, all the way to the temple's other entrance so we decided to just head back. I tried to take a peek at the other sides but seemed like they were of no interest any longer to Jasper.
On the way to the water temple of Neak Pean, we passed by two small temples. Banteay Prei and Krol Ko, both were small and in ruins but they were on the way so we decided to stop by and take a peek. Neak Pean itself was very unique as it was situated in the middle of the lake. We had to use a makeshift crickety bridge but not before being asked if we wanted to go on a sunrise tour tomorrow morning by one of the ticket guards. It was a pretty good tip that would pivot me to try going for the sunrise the following day. The views of the lake on the way to the temple was a huge highlight as there were a lot of tree trunks poking out and right beside the bridge were lily pads and lotus flowers in fullbloom. Once we got to the island, we had to go deeper into the woods to see this amazing temple. It stood in the middle of a perfect square pool, casting its reflection in the still green waters. We made a lap around the temple to see it from all angles before heading back out and crossing the bridge.
Our next stop was Ta Som Temple. I would describe it as the child of Ta Prohm and Bayon if they ever made a baby. Having much of the tree and root covered jungle vibes similar to Ta Prohm, the real jewel of the temple was located at the end. The final part of the temple was a dark tunnel which led outside which doesn't seem to special at first but when looking back behind, we were greeted by a similar face from Bayon and in front of it were these two trees that seemed to hug each other, their tops forming a heart as their roots entangled each other going inside the tunnel we emerged from.
On the way back, we passed by numerous smaller temple heads that were dotted all around the grounds with the lake on the right side. I think this area was one of the coolest sights so far as we cruised by with our bikes. They were so many temples sticking out from the ground, some grouped together, others stood alone. When we got back to our hotel, I was so happy to be swimming in our pool again. That's also when it started to rain a bit so we were lucky to have been able to escape another potential rainy day.
We decided to go find some greens in Pub Street while searching for dinner. It was quite the infamous place for it. It definitely was easy to find one as soon as we walked a couple of steps, we were approached by someone offering a massage with "boom boom." I jokingly asked what's boom boom to which he laughed. I told him that we're looking for ganja to which his face perked up and said "I have!" My mistake here was not negotiating and just going with him to pick up as prices in Japan were so expensive, $25 for 5g of weed seemed to be no problem for me. I had also asked for some magic mushrooms which were a bit more expensive but I wanted to try out what the guy from Ta Prohm did and what better place than Angkor Wat the next day. After the deal, he brought us back to where we started and gave us some tips on where to try some traditional Cambodian food. We ate a pretty good meal that night with me once again over-ordering cuz I was always so hungry after a long day. Jasper quoted the term takaw-gutom which was pretty interesting as I didn't know there was a word for it in Tagalog. Back at our hotel, I quickly got to work in making our joints and we smoked up at the gardens. It was an amazing high to which I enjoyed a lot, but Jasper didn't get high at all. The guy probably has cannabis immunity.Read more
Angkor Wat
June 3, 2022 in Cambodia ⋅ ☁️ 32 °C
This was the big day, I could barely get sleep partly because of the weed and the karaoke throughout the night, but also because I was so excited to finally go to Angkor Wat. I had gotten to know so many of the temples around Angkor Park and decided to save the best for last so it wouldn't outshine all the rest and we could get mind-blown every day. At around 3:30AM, I had already awoken Jasper since I was getting too impatient and got him hyped up. This was it, we got our stuff ready, I took my shower and got the day's necessities all in check. The sun wasn't even out yet and it was pitch black outside. We pushed our bikes out towards the gate and unlocked it and then we were off. It was definitely a different experience riding out into the darkness. I had to be really careful with where I was going, using the headlights smartly and watching the road with eagle eyes to not get into an accident for any stray potholes. Jasper was trailing behind me. The cold wind brushed against my skin and whistled as we made twists and turns. The streets were empty with just a couple of street lights showing us the day but soon we were in the wilderness with nothing but our headlights to keep us going. It was so exciting and a bit scary but it was truly one of the best and memorable highlights in the Cambodian adventure. We managed to arrive at the familiar moat surrounding Angkor Wat and parked our bikes in a nearby parking spot before following the crowds to one of the bridges leading to the temple grounds. It was closed and much to everyone's confusion, we decided to try out another entrance. We got in line and showed our worn-out tickets to cross the moat and somehow we got in front of the crowd and they ended up following us instead. One of the ladies asked me if I knew where I was going and I told them I was going to the reflecting pond so they were all in consensus to just follow me. With some pressure on my back, I managed to lead everyone to the supposed pond except that it was fenced off. We transfered to the adjacent pond instead where we took our places and prepared for the sunrise. I took the supposed shrooms I got from Lucky as the sun was rising up. With how the weather was looking, I wasn't too hopeful in getting a magnificent sunrise. We did get the quintessential reflection silhouette shots of Angkor Wat so there's that. We stayed for a long time in front of that pond, trying to get as many angles as we can. Even though it was cloudy, it was still a pretty magical moment. The temple actually wasn't open yet so we hanged around the bridge for awhile. From the distance, I saw some people going in through a backdoor route so I prompted us to do the same. At this point, I kinda figured the mushrooms were a sham and I got scammed but I wasn't going to let it ruin the day.
Entering the actual temple was a different experience than all the other temples. There was something about the day itself. The weather played a vital role in creating such a forlorn ambience and added so much mood and drama to the photos I took that day. The temple itself was of the most ancient and holy places in the whole park and I definitely felt that energy. It was huge, with a lot of corridors and empty spaces of what once was. The only remaining remnants were a lot of statues showering us with blessings. We went up to the top main square where the famous towers of Angkor Wat stood. It was surprisingly still empty despite already being the most popular temple in Cambodia, we were beyond lucky to be able to have such a unique experience. We made a lap around the main square and waited until they opened up one of the towers. We climbed up and got even better views around the park. Angkor Wat was really in the middle of a jungle, or perhaps all the temples were. The trees extending as far as the eye can see and surrounded by water. I just love spiritual places especially when they are in smackdab in the middle of nature. Satisfied with the first temple of the day, went back to the first pond and decided to eat brunch. I had a large number of fruits and a watermelon smoothie before we started the walk back to our bikes.
We decided it was time to smoke up and take the jungle adventure to the next level, we passed by two smaller temples on the way. Prohm Kel Temple and Prasat Rorng Ramong, deciding to take a smoke break at the latter. Oh man, oh man, the joint definitely hit the spot and it still didn't work for Jasper! It was definitely weird as the guy used to smoke cigs back in the day. The bike ride to the next spot went from epic to absolutely euphoric.
We got to Phnom Bakheng, another very unique temple because this one turned out to be a mountain temple. To see it, one had to hike up which was really perfect as I needed to do something with all of this energy. Jasper wanted to skip out on this one which was definitely a no-no for me. We were presented two choices, a man-made and the natural path. My instincts pointed towards taking the natural path as it seemed to be the best way to experience the mountain and making the temple much more worth it. Jasper wanted to take the stairs instead so I made it a race. I got into the woods and started the steep hike up. It was a good things Jasper didn't take this route because it was hella technical and really high-level. A lot of these maneauvers required a lot of strength and flexibility and some paths weren't so obvious and I had to really use my intuition to find out how to best approach each obstacle. It definitely put me to the test and I was panting but I still kept going as it was so fun. I eventually made it up to the top with no one else in sight but just the guard. This temple must not be visited too often because a lot of people would be put off by the hike. Jasper seemed to take a pretty long time getting up despite taking the stairs but I had time to rest and wait. After awhile, he finally showed up and with such a tired face on. It got me in stitches as I laughed my ass off. He was swearing at me for making him go through with while I simply found the whole thing hilarious, especially so that the temple still had a huge number of steps going up. Phnom Bakheng is also one a very popular sunset spot though compared to Pre Rup, it was definitely much harder to get to. We should have saved this one for last but alas it is done. The temple had a pretty unique thing going on with its shapes and the views were really great. At the top, there was a tiny shrine for a local deity. I sat in front of it and meditated and noticed that from an angle of somehow sitting down, even the small shrine's surroundings were decorated intricately with amazing decals. Going down, I invited Jasper to try out the natural path to which he made a comment that those were only for monks and I laughed at him even more for being a wuss. We both took the man-made stairs this time around so I could see what the other path was like, and it was so easy and smooth-sailing I ended up reaching the bottom pretty quickly.
After Phnom Bakheng, we started to make our way to Angkor Thom where Bayon Temple was. We stopped by Baksei Chamkrong Temple on the way, this temple was kinda similar to Pre Rup's temple towers except it was just a singular solitary one.Read more
Angkor Thom
June 3, 2022 in Cambodia ⋅ ☁️ 32 °C
Finally back at the first temple we encountered, Bayon. It was still as magnificent if not even more grand than when we first saw it. Gaining such a huge appreciation from all the temples we visited, Bayon still stood out immensely as one of the most special temples out there. Turns out we approached the correct side of the temple where we were supposed to start as opposed to last time where who knows what side we went in from. Now, I was still very stoned so when we were approached by a tour guide, I had somehow thought to myself that it would be a great idea to have gain some insights at least once in the trip for such a special temple. Newsflash, it wasn't as it was pretty much the reason why I never liked getting tour guides in the first place but this is what my high ass decided so now I have to live with the consequences. I had really just wanted to take my time to explore the temple on my own but as with the tours, we were herded from place to place. Although the information provided were very interesting, I soon found out that I really just wanted my own space. I bit the bullet and told the tour guide that I wanted to call off the tour much to his surprise and I was trying to explain to him that I just wanted to take my time and not be told where to go and I reached out to my wallet to give him some cash but I only had 20 dollars at that time so I gave that to him much to his surprise as it was a pretty big tip as he did say that the tour was free and we could pay whatever we wanted. I figured that was already pretty good so I bid him goodbye and we were able to enjoy the temple for a bit. Bayon had so many of these faces and it was easily one of the most photogenic temples out there as the prevalent rectangle frames were everywhere and this stable geometric shape provided really powerful photographs when shot at the right angles. The tour guide once again came back as he felt that he wanted to work for it or decided to try his luck and milk us some more because at one point he pulled us to the side for some sob story. To be fair, the tour guide was really good and I learned a lot and he was also able to show us a lot of the angles for the best results though I prefer to take my own photos, the classic shots are also nice to have as a collection. He was also able to show us a lot of the places that we otherwise might have missed and we covered a lot of ground around Bayon, even going to the upper levels so all in all, I would call it a memorable experience.
The plan after Bayon was to go back to the hotel to swim and rest up as the day's temperatures rose to its highest. Jasper wanted to continue but I was able to convince him to go back and chill. We rolled up another joint and smoked it up and went swimming which felt amazing! In our room, I was sifting through my photos and contacted Lucky about the faulty shrooms and my dumbass ended up getting swindled again as I found myself dealing with him again on the streets for he quote "best" mushrooms. From how it looked, it really did look like magic mushrooms but there really was no way to tell. I invited Jasper to get ready to hit the road again but now he was too tired and tapped out since his sunburns were also beyond nasty. I did tell him to bring sunscreen but alas, this how it be. So now, it was finally time for me to ride solo, being the first time I was able to experience Cambodia alone. I happily ate the shrooms, got on my bike and put on the tunes as I made my way back to Angkor Park.
After smoking two joints, swimming and resting at the hotel, my body was definitely in a more relaxed state and the energy levels weren't as high as before so I took it slow. I managed to see the Terrace of the Elephants which was an elavated platform with elephant statues, beyond it was Baphuon. It was a huge temple and it had a long bridge that was apparently closed but I wasn't gonna let a sign stop me from exploring this place so I walked on ahead and made a brief stop near the temple to just lay down and rest. I enjoyed the peace and serenity of the place being the only soul present in the moment. Baphuon's unique trait were these cylindrical objects that were lined up in front of the temple. Near Baphuon was Phimeanakas which was another cool looking temple. I soon realized however that I was also getting a bit tired and there were still a lot of temples dotted around the hill and I wasn't really in the mood to tire myself out as I still had a whole journey ahead of me so I got back on my bike and listened to some tunes while going around Angkor Park. My original plan was to go to Pre Rup to enjoy the sunset but turns out it was going to be closed before the sun set so I went to Srah Srang instead as I couldn't bring myself to do Phnom Bakheng again. I took my time and went as slow as possible, taking detours to try and pass the time but I got quite bored and found myself in Srah Srang again. I saw that the weather was getting quite dark and gave up on the sunset and the shrooms altogether so I just decided to call it quits and go back to the hotel. I returned the bike on the way and had to walk back which was quite hard with my tired legs but I made it alright. Jasper returned his bike afterwards while I hit the pool again. We had dinner right by the hotel but not before smoking up again for a great night ahead.Read more
Siem Reap III
June 4, 2022 in Cambodia ⋅ 🌧 30 °C
This day was a day for chilling, waking up late and getting our things ready. We ordered from the same hotel-restaurant from the night before and encoutered the same tuktuk driver that took us here on the first day. The nerve of this dude as he tried to scam us in to going early by making up some news that tourists had to be at the airport in 3 hours according to the Cambodian government. What a load of bull, I told him that I was going to eat and swim so it was up to him to wait for us or not. After eating, we smoked up one more time and swam at the pool again. I was truly living in paradise the past few days. Dan had one of his guys call us a tuktuk using an app and it was surprisingly cheap. He took us to the airport and I gave him the remainder of our Cambodian Riel and thus ends the epic adventures of Cambodia.Read more
